Students will examine two satellite images of their local watershed taken at different points in time and use this data to learn about changes in the watershed, particularly in land cover. Next, they describe how these changes have had positive or...(View More) negative impacts on water quality in the watershed. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices.(View Less)

Students will compare aerial photos of their area from the past with current photos, noting differences and then conducting ground truth investigations to determine what happened. Finally, students will use the information they gather about past...(View More) changes to make predictions about the future, and consider how past choices have impacted their current environment and how their own choices now will impact the future. Resources required include a pair of aerial photographs or satellite images taken several years apart, a ruler, and graph paper. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices.(View Less)

Students will first try to imagine what their school and neighborhood look like from “A Bird’s Eye View” and draw a detailed picture. They will follow this with a study of an aerial photo of their town. Materials required for this activity...(View More) include a remotely-sensed image that includes the local community, and any other map representations of the region. This activity is part of the Ground Truth Studies Teacher Handbook, which provides more than 20 activities to build student understanding of global change and remote sensing, and includes background chapters for teachers, glossary, and appendices.(View Less)